Love Interrupted
by SummerJane11
Summary: The Ice Truck Killer is dead but the Bay Harbor Butcher lives on and he's sleeping right next to her. Hailey's life turns into a tailspin as pregnancy, heroine and nosy cops get thrown into an already self-destructive mix. Who would have thought that dating a serial killer would be so hard? (SEQUEL TO BAD INTENTIONS)
1. Chapter 1

**It's Alive!**

39 days, 16 hours and 12 minutes since Dexter Morgan killed his brother. Since Hailey had had more than one minute alone to her own thoughts. Since Doakes had started following Dexter around everywhere he went, like his own personal bloodhound. Dexter was tense and abnormally quiet, but a constant presence in her everyday activities nevertheless. He wanted to look normal and apparently normal to him was to go everywhere with her. Even, much to her dismay, shopping, which had always been a dedicated time for her to relax. But now, not only did she have an impatient serial killer insisting that they hold hands, but also a beefed up distrustful cop never more than 20 feet behind.

"This is getting ridiculous." Hailey commented as she glanced outside their apartment window. The familiar ominous black car parked outside of the building, "I thought he would have let up by now."

"Yeah. Me too." Dexter responded.

"Doesn't he have a life?" She hissed.

"Apparently not."

"Can't we report him?"

"To who? The police?" He scoffed. She ground her teeth together as she fixed the collar on his bowling shirt.

"I gotta say this is pretty much the lamest hobby you could have come up with." She teased, "But I kind of like the team name_. Bowl Till You Bleed_. Very… you." Hailey giggled and pressed her lips to his briefly before backing away. He rolled his eyes and picked his stuff up from the kitchen table, "Oh, if I don't see you tonight remember that I have my first doctor's appointment tomorrow at noon."

"Right, I'll swing by to pick you up at a quarter to okay?"

"Sounds good." She suddenly got overcome with a sense of routine, "Oh my god." She said under her breath, looking up at Dexter with wide horrified eyes, "When did we become so domestic?" He approached her with a wicked smirk on his face and pulled her towards his body roughly.

"I can tell you with absolute assurance that nothing about me is domestic." He whispered in her ear seductively, before biting down on the sensitive skin there. She moaned a little as his hand moved under her short skirt and between her legs predatorily.

"Oh gross, fuck." They turned to see Deb standing in the doorway with a disgusted look on her face, "Can you guys like get a room?"

"We would if you weren't occupying mine." Dexter shot back. Deb gagged and went to the kitchen.

"This would be easier if we didn't get interrupted every time I try to—" Dexter stopped himself midsentence, and shook his head, frustrated, "I'll see you later tonight." He pecked Hailey on the lips and bid farewell to Deb as he exited his apartment.

"Have fun at bowling." Hailey chimed sarcastically, locking the door behind him. She turned to Deb, "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"Well I was invited over to Rita's for dinner." Deb responded, "You could come too if you wanted, I know you've never met her before." Hailey shifted on the spot uncomfortably and refused to meet Deborah's eyes.

"Having dinner with Dexter's ex and her kids?" She pretended to contemplate it for a moment, "I think I'll pass."

"Good call." Deb chuckled, "Fuck that would be awkward."

"Awkward indeed." Hailey agreed. If only Deborah knew half the extent of what it would mean to go back home for dinner, "So does this mean that I have a night to myself?"

"Well yeah, unless you wanted me to stay—"

"Shh." She pressed a finger to Deb's lips quickly, "Please, go. Never before in my life have I just wanted to lie here and watch old Sex and the City reruns by myself as much as I do right now."

"Noted." Deb smiled and Hailey collapsed onto the couch in satisfaction. She let out a deep breath as she watched Deborah gather her things and head out the door. Yes, it was lovely to be friends with Dexter's younger sister, but she couldn't stand the monotony anymore. She sprang up as soon as Deb had left the premises and grabbed the phone off Dexter's desk, dialing a familiar number.

"Hey Anthony, you busy tonight?" She asked, biting her bottom lip, "Great, there's this new club opening up downtown I was thinking—Anthony I'm fine, I won't be drinking I promise, I just need a night out." Anthony finally agreed and Hailey grinned, "Perfect, pick me up in 30 okay?"

The club was crowded, sweaty and loud. Exactly what she needed to forget all her problems. Anthony was trying to maneuver them towards the bar but some tall dark stranger stopped her. His light brown hair was skillfully disheveled, blue eyes glittering in the strobe lights, shirt undone a few buttons to show that the top of his tanned and muscular chest. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey."

"Can I buy you a drink?" He asked, she could barely hear him over the pounding music.

"Sorry, designated driver." She tried to move past him but he put his hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"How 'bout a dance then?" He persisted. She thought about it for a minute, looking up at his handsome feature contemplatively.

"Sure, what's the harm?" She agreed, waving at Anthony as the man took her hand and moved her to the middle of the crowd. He was close, their bodies were pressed against each other and his hands were on her hips.

"So what's your name?"

"Hailey." She shouted over the music as they danced, "You?"

"Joey." He answered, "Joey Quinn."

"Nice to make your acquaintance Joey Quinn." She teased and wrapped her arms around her neck lightly. She slapped his hands away when they started getting friendly, moving down to her ass. He put them up in surrender.

"My bad, sorry." He winked, "C'mon let's grab a booth." He pulled her away from the other dancers and towards one of the red leather booths in the back of the club, she looked around for Anthony and found him at the bar, chatting up some guy in a wife beater, "Now tell me about yourself Hailey." The sentence sounded so familiar and she was brought back to a time when Dexter asked her the exact same one.

"What exactly do you want to know?" "Do you work, go to school?"

"I'm taking a gap year actually." She told him and flagged down a server, "Can I please get a ginger ale? Thanks." Joey ordered a beer before turning back to her with a captivated expression.

"And what do you plan on doing in this gap year?"

"A lot of things." She thought for a moment, "And at the same time, nothing at all." She smirked, "What about you? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a cop actually." He said, "Narcotics." She nodded, why was everyone she talked to now a days a cop? He laughed, "What? Does that turn you off?" She shook her head.

"To say I'm turned off would be assuming that I was ever turned on in the first place."

"Ouch."

"I just know an awful lot of cops, that's all." She scrutinized him for a second, "To be honest, I wouldn't have guessed that you were one."

"Good, I don't try to give off that narc vibe."

"You don't." She smiled. The server came back with their drinks and she started sipping on her ginger ale.

"So how does a girl like you not have a doting boyfriend?"

"A girl like me?"

"You know, beautiful, coy… the whole package." He clarified. She nodded and rolled her eyes.

"I do have a doting boyfriend actually." She answered, "Well I wouldn't call him doting exactly, but a boyfriend nevertheless." He only smirked.

"Then why are you sitting in the back of a club with a guy like me?"

"Maybe I'm just trying to protect the next girl you were gonna ask to dance from waking up in the morning alone and disappointed."

"You think I'd do that."

"A guy like you." She laughed, "I know you'd do that." They stared at each other in silence for a while before Joey cleared his throat.

"Well you definitely ruined my game tonight." He remarked off handedly, "If you leave me here all alone now, I won't be able to think of anyone but you for the rest of the night. It's almost as if you have an obligation to go home with me." She scoffed incredulously.

"You're delusional." She shook her head in disbelief, "But it's quite an endearing quality."

"Ya think?"

"Yeah."

"I never got your last name." Joey said.

"It's Bennett."

"Hailey Bennett." He muttered to himself, "I think I like you, Hailey Bennett." She didn't answer only looked at her watch and sighed, Deb was probably home by now and wondering where she was.

"I think I have to go now." She looked around the club to find Anthony was nowhere in sight.

"Well at least let me drive you home." He insisted, "I won't try anything, I promise. Just let me take you back to your lucky boyfriend in one piece."

"Okay." She agreed, "Thanks Joey."

"No problem Hailey."

The moment she stepped into the apartment, Deb was on her.

"Where the fuck have you been?" She demanded.

"I went out with Anthony." Hailey explained, "Why what's wrong?"

"You gotta see this!" Deb exclaimed, running back into the apartment where the television in the bedroom was still blaring. Hailey watched in shock and dismay at the footage. _Dexter_. Her breath quickened as she saw the man in diving suits, excavating what they were calling "an underwater graveyard". She remembered being on Dexter's boat and sailing out far into the sea to get rid of her own father's body. She had been crying and he had held her hand as they hauled the black garbage bags over the edge of the boat. _How much do they know_, she wondered. Deb was looking at the screen in awe, ecstatic that there was another serial killer out there way worse than the Ice Truck Killer. Yes, he was worse than Brian, he had killed Brian. Dexter came into the room moments later, confused as to why his sister and his girlfriend were both staring at the television screen transfixed. Hailey looked up at him and he saw fear in her eyes. He sat down next to her and took in what the news report had to offer, "Maybe I can finally get some peace." Deb said, "Isn't that great?"

"Yeah." Dexter responded, his hand to his heart, "It's amazing." Hailey lowered her eyes to her hands. They were shaking violently.

"I'm so tired." She announced out of the blue, "Deb do you mind if me and Dexter take the bed tonight."

"Yeah sure." She answered and practically jumped up with an enthusiasm that neither Dexter nor Hailey had seen since she had found out that her fiancé was trying to kill her. The couple was left alone in the room.

"Oh. My. God." Hailey whispered, barely able to form any other coheres thought.

"My heart." Dexter said, "It's beating out of my chest. I've never felt anything like it before." Hailey turned to him and hesitantly placed a hand on his chest to feel the rapid thumping inside.

"What are we going to do?"

"Nothing." Dexter responded, exhaling slowly, "There's nothing we can do now." They sat in silence for a moment, "I had the opportunity to kill two people in the last two nights. I couldn't do it."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe it has something to do with your brother. I mean, he was the last person you killed and I know how hard that was for you." Hailey suggested, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, "For the first time ever it was personal. Maybe you still feel guilty." Dexter shook her off.

"It had to be done."

"Yeah but… he was still the only real family you had. He was the only one who could ever fully understand you, what you've been through."

"Don't do this to me now Hailey." He hissed at her, "I've had a hard enough day already."

"I know, I'm sorry." She sighed, "I was just trying to help." She stood up and pulled off the dress she was wearing along with her heals.

"Where did you go tonight?" He asked as he removed his shirt and carefully folded it back up into the drawer, "You're all dressed up."

"I went out to a club with Anthony." She answered.

"Anything interesting happen?"

"Nope." She turned and smiled shyly at him, "Nothing at all."

"Well this whole thing kind of puts a damper on the plans I had for us… now that we're finally alone that is." He stood behind her, engulfing her body with his own and swayed her back and forth soothingly, kissing up and down her neck softly, "I'm afraid my burning desire has kind of been dimmed."

"It's okay." She turned to him and pressed her lips to his, "We'll get through this somehow. Doakes, the plastic bags in the ocean, Deb the cockblock, all of it." She leaned her forehead against his and breathed in and out deeply, "At this point, I don't think things could get any more fucked up."

Despite her reassurances, Dexter tossed and turned all night, trapped in a waking nightmare. Bringing her with him in his sleeplessness.

The Bay Harbor Butcher, that's what the press was calling him. It was rather catchy. She had to admit.

"I will not kill my sister. I will not kill my sister. I will not kill my sister." Dexter mumbled out loud as Deb rushed out the door, leaving in her wake some unlooked at photos of new apartments and an opened container of orange juice.

"Are you going to work today?" Hailey asked as she walked into the living room clad in only a towel wrapped around her.

"That was the plan, why?"

"No reason, just remember to pick me up for the doctor's."

"You've reminded me 20 times in the last 30 minutes." He pointed out.

"I know, I'm just… nervous, that's all." She took a deep breath and opened the fridge, "Where's the orange j— oh." She padded over and grabbed the container from his desk, searching around in the cupboard for a clean glass, of which there were none to be found, "How did Deb ever survive on her own without ever doing the dishes?"

"Not a clue." Dexter answered, "If you could clean up while I'm g—" Dexter took one look at Hailey's expression and stopped what he was saying, "Never mind." She took a swig of the orange juice from the container and then put it back in the fridge. Dexter's cell phone went off, he looked at it oddly for a moment without answering.

"Who is it?"

"Your mother." He responded. Hailey raised her eyebrows in astonishment, "Hello? Astor? Sweetie what's the matter? What kind of weird? I'm on my way." He hung up.

"You're on your what?" Hailey demanded.

"Astor said Rita was acting strange, something about your dad. It must be bad for her to call me."

"So?" She exclaimed, "Dexter you're not a part of their life anymore!"

"Kids don't get that, you can't just suddenly abandon them."

"Uh, well she didn't call me."

"You had been disappearing from that household for years." He remarked, "I had dated Rita for months before I even met you." Hailey glared at him angrily and crossed her arms over her chest, "Astor said your mother keeps yelling on the phone with people about your dad and crying. Last time I checked you stabbed your father, and since I'm definitely a part of _your_ life, I think I am well within my boundaries to figure out what the fuck is going on."

"Fine Dexter." She practically snarled, "Go running back to my mom, whatever, but if you're not back in time to pick me up for this appointment you may as well beg her to take you back because I sure as hell won't be." She stormed into the bedroom and slammed her door behind herself. Dexter muttered something under his breath about women being confusing and unreasonable, grabbed his keys and left the apartment, bringing the door shut equally as loudly.

When he was five minutes late, she was annoyed. When he was 10 minutes late, she was pissed. By the time he got there, 20 minutes later, she was livid.

"I got caught up at work." He said as she got into the car. She didn't respond, just stared in front of with a stern expression on her face as he drove her to the doctor's office. The silence continued as they sat in the waiting room, a magazine in her hand, which she flipped through aggressively, "They brought in some kind of FBI superstar and his entourage to help with Bay Harbor Butcher case, he's putting a taskforce together and everything, I had to go to the briefing." She continued to ignore him, "They've started IDing the victims and letting families know. Your father was one of the lucky first to be identified." Her head shot up from the ad spread, "That's why your mother was so upset." She opened her mouth to speak when a nurse beat her to the punch.

"Mr. and Mrs. Morgan?" She asked kindly.

"Yeah." Hailey responded quickly, not feeling up to correcting her.

"The doctor is ready for you now. Please, come this way."

Dr. Lane came highly recommended; as Hailey had found out after Dexter did extensive research on the subject during one of the nights Sargent Doakes had trapped him inside. She was a portly woman but had one of those kind faces that make you feel instantly soothed. She introduced herself and asked about medical histories, previous pregnancies and family illnesses, all very standard. Hailey had been at her mother's doctor's appointment, when they spread the orange goo on her stomach and looked for some signs of life before Astor was born. However, this was a very different experience for her. The gel was cold to the touch and the metal instrument roaming around her stomach felt highly unnatural.

"Well you're definitely pregnant." Dr. Lane announced joyously. The joy that only came from a woman who had never been knocked up by her mother's ex serial killer boyfriend. Hailey swallowed and nodded nervously, Dexter smiled and grabbed Hailey's hand, squeezing it. She didn't know if it was a genuine gesture or just for appearances sake, "Looks like you're almost 3 months in now, so you should be noticing some early symptoms…"

"Her breasts are bigger." Dexter offered, Hailey blushed a little and nudged him, "I read only that that could happen."

"Yes." Dr. Lane smiled, "That's common. Any morning sickness yet?"

"No not really." Hailey answered.

"Cramps?"

"No."

"Fatigue?"

"Maybe a little…"

"Dizziness? Fainting spells?"

"I feel rather dizzy right now actually." Hailey sputtered out. Dr. Lane laughed.

"Sorry, I shouldn't just be throwing symptoms at you. This is a big step in anybody's life and you're so young. On the bright side there's a much higher chance of a smooth and healthy pregnancy at your age." Dr. Lane grabbed some papers and pamphlet from her desk, "Read these, it should help you understand what to expect. I'll ask that you please make another appointment for next month at the front desk on the way out."

"We will." Dexter said. He shook the doctor's hand, "Thank you so much."

"I'll see you both again soon I hope." She responded with a large smile.

The car ride back to the apartment was uncomfortable to say the least.

"So Paul Bennett is officially dead." Hailey said rather solemnly, leaning her head against the passenger window.

"And Hailey Bennett is officially pregnant." Dexter responded with a nod of his head, "I'm sorry I was late."

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch about you going to see my mom." Hailey suddenly burst out into hysterical laughter.

"What is it?"

"_Her breasts are bigger_." Hailey mocked him and Dexter chuckled.

"It's true, I've noticed." He put his arm around her and brought her head against his shoulder. She relaxed against him and smiled. The first genuine smile she'd been able to manage in weeks it seemed. For once they didn't have to worry about anything, they were just enjoying each other's presence, like they used to before everything got so fucking complicated. They walked up the apartment together hand in hand and Dexter had just put the key into the door when someone stepped out from behind the corner. They both looked up and Hailey's eyes widened in shock.

"Mom?"

Maybe things always had been complicated.

**Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

** This chapter is meant to set everything up for the story/season... so if some things in it don't exactly seem realistic, well it's only fanficiton so you know...**

**An Inconvenient Lie**

The silence was the worst. Nobody knew what to say. Nothing could be said to make any of it better. Rita stared at them, both of them, her eyes wide in shocked horror. Hailey dropped Dexter's hand like it was on fire. She took a tentative step forward, "Mom…" Rita didn't say anything, just continued to look at her daughter like she was a stranger, "I didn't want this to happen. I didn't mean for things to get this fucked up. I just—" Rita put her hand up to silence her. She turned to Dexter with revulsion clear in her expression.

"My eighteen year old daughter Dexter?" She spat out. He clenched his jaw and nodded his head slowly. He stood like a statue, unable to move, unable to see any kind of solution. He had always been better at dealing with other people's problems then his own but this was a problem that he couldn't fix.

"Mom it's not his fault." Hailey spoke up. He wasn't surprised that she was trying to take the blame, she always had a thing for bringing all the pain and disappointment down on herself, "He didn't make a move, I did. I grew attached." Rita ignored her, "Mom! Look at me, say something!" There was long pause before Rita finally spoke.

"You're father was murdered." She announced, "The funeral is in one hour." Hailey swallowed and nodded slowly.

"You weren't going to tell me?" She answered lowly, "You came to see Dexter instead of your own daughter!"

"I didn't know where you were living!" Rita protested viciously, "I've tried calling you a thousand times since you've moved out, you never answer." She shook her head bitterly, "Besides, after this day, you are no longer my daughter." She shoved a piece of paper at her with the name and address of the church where the funeral was being held and left. Hailey stood there for a moment. She wanted to throw up, cry, kick and scream. But she didn't do any of those things. Instead she just grabbed Dexter's keys from his hands, the Barbie doll head scratching against her palm, and opened the door to their apartment.

"I'm going to take a shower and then get changed." Hailey said, her voice firm and unfeeling, "You should do the same."

"I don't think I should—"

"This is not about you." She snapped and spun around to meet him head on, "I need you there. Me. So you're going to go. Got it?"

"Yeah." He agreed with a sigh, "I'm sorry." Hailey continued on her way to the shower without glancing back at him.

She let the hot water pour over her body. She wondered if it was guilt that she was feeling or just plain misery and hopelessness. She suddenly felt completely empty. Like she had been hollowed out by her mother's words. She had known that the confrontation would come at some point but it always felt far away in the future. She had been expecting screaming and crying, but the silence was more cutting then any angry word her mother could have shouted. _After this day, you are no longer my daughter. _Any normality that she had been trying to hold onto earlier that day had slipped through her fingers. How could she have been so naïve, so silly as to think that this was going to work out? That eventually things would become easier. The events of the last year flashed in her eyes and sped past her like headlights on a darkened highway. How far away they all seemed now. Her dad, Mr. Daniels, Brian Moser… she fell to her knees onto the cold porcelain tub and put her head in her hands. There were no more tears for her to shed, she had cried enough for an entire lifespan.

"C'mon Dexter, it's alright." Cody said as he took Dexter's hand and pulled him farther into the church. Hailey dragged behind him. She kept her eyes turned downwards as she followed. They sat in the pew next to the kids and listened to the priest spew his speech about us all being god's children. Dexter's mind was on his brother, where as Hailey's was a million miles away, thinking of how far she could run if she started right that moment. She was fit thanks to cheerleading, and she could probably make it back to the apartment, if she sprinted the entire way, in about an hour's time.

"And now it's time for the family to come forth for quiet prayer." The priest announced and Rita, Cody and Astor walked forward to the alter of the chapel. Hailey stayed exactly where she was. Dexter put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Shouldn't you join them?" He asked.

"I don't have a family anymore." She responded in a flat tone. Dexter was at a loss for words. She turned to him but saw that he wasn't looking at her anymore; his eyes were fixed on the empty spot next to him.

"What's wrong?" She asked. He seemed to snap out of it after a moment.

"I need to let Brian go." He whispered back.

"Do you really think it's that simple?"

"Nothing is simple." He responded. She smirked and nodded in understanding. Cody was the first back at the pew to sit next to them again. He looked up at Dexter with wide innocent eyes.

"Does this mean that you'll be my father now?"

Hailey turned to Dexter with a look of pure sorrow.

There was a numbness that came with being left alone in the world a strange ebbing nothingness that wanted to creep under your skin and corrupt you. Hailey quickly became a subject of constant concern to both Dexter and Deborah. She was withdrawn, uncharacteristically silent, accepting of everything that anyone asked of her and yet there was no light in her eyes. Deb was confused by this, not understanding what could have possibly happened in the last two weeks that would cause this seemingly sudden misery. Dexter was less taken aback. He thought that everything that could have happened had happened to Hailey, that there would be no lower place for her to sink, no more great tragedies for her to overcome and yet he was wrong. She was giving into her self-harming nature, her own dark passenger that she had warned him about months before. He hadn't seen such completely bleakness mark her pretty features before, not even after she murdered her father, not even after she was kidnapped by her psychotic history teacher or when she was tied down to the dinning room chair in Dexter's childhood home. He didn't want to admit it, but it scared him a little. He watched her as she stared blankly at the wall, holding her stomach carefully, he couldn't get a read on her. And it unsettled him.

She didn't know how the needle ended up in her arm, but suddenly it was there, injecting her with something she didn't want or need. An onset of depression, a graduation party, a man hovering over her tauntingly with promises of oblivion. She had said 'no'. She remembered screaming for him to stop as he pushed her down onto the chair and wrapped the tube around her upper arm. She had been out of it. But that didn't make sense. She had only had a glass of ginger ale. Her frantic mind remembered the red cup that he had passed her, the funny taste. Why had she drunk it? It seemed like such a stupid thing to do now that it was done. He did this to her on purpose. He must have. How could she keep letting things like this happen to her? But she thought suddenly that she deserved it. That all this misery was just punishment for her sins and she had sinned so much. Anthony had promised to protect her. But where was he now? She blinked a couple times as the hard drugs kicked in, shaking her head violently. She tried to stumble away from the grinning man but only fell to the floor. She deserved it.

"No. No. There's something wrong." She started shaking violently, "Stop it. Make it stop please." She seized violently. Uncontrollably. Her vision began to blur. The man was coming in and out of focus. Her mouth became suddenly dry and her breathing shallow.

"Fuck, how much did you give her?" Someone said behind him. He shrugged, "Call an ambulance! Jesus Christ somebody call a fucking ambulance!" She started crying, the disorientation taking over, she closed her eyes tightly. She felt like in that moment, that she was going to die. _It's just one goddamn thing after another with me, _she thought bitterly to herself as her body went into self-destruct mode. She waited for death, afraid of what the other side might bring for her. She said goodbye to Dexter silently and then let the world slip away through her failing fingers.

But she didn't die. She woke up. It was strange thing surviving something that should have definitely killed you. She had made her peace with death, said her sad farewells and now had to face reality all over again. She opened her eyes slowly to the blinding light. If the incessant beeping of the heart monitor beside her bed hadn't woken her, she might have thought that she was in heaven. But it wasn't heaven; it was just a shockingly white hospital room. Besides, if someone like her could get into heaven she didn't want to have anything to do with it. Dexter was sitting in the grey chair next to the bed; his hand his hand in hers. She lulled her head slowly to the side to face him. His green eyes piercing into her like daggers. He didn't smile or look relieved when he saw that she was awake. He just stared at her with those impenetrable eyes. She felt herself falling into darkness again. She had to explain to him, had to tell him—

"There was something in my—" She muttered, barely audible, "He did it on purpose." It was all she had the energy to say before she disappeared back into a deep sleep.

The next time she woke up Dexter was pacing the room back and forth. He looked sleep deprived and angry, still wearing the same shirt that he had been when she had first opened her eyes.

"Dexter?" She whispered, her voice was hoarse and she was desperately thirsty, "Water." Without even looking at her he picked a glass up off the side table and pressed it to her lips, tilting it slightly so that she could take slow sips, "Thank you." She said gratefully between tiny gulps, "Is it okay?"

"The doctor said that you'll recover fully."

"Not me… the baby." She clarified.

"It wasn't good for it, but the doctors see no reason for concern." He grabbed her face between his hands roughly and she squeaked, "Tell me the truth, did you do this to yourself. Did you knowingly shoot up that heroin? Hailey, I want you to look me in the eyes when I speak to you." She complied.

"No Dexter, I would never ever do that. Not to you and not to this child." She sniffled, "I was at the party, I don't know, I was talking to people and dancing and this guy handed me a drink. Ginger ale, I even watched him pour it into the cup but I must have turned away. I don't know what happened." A shiver went down her spine; "He took me upstairs and put the needle in my arm and told me that he was going to make everything better— then everything else is dark. It all feels so surreal, like it was all a dream." Dexter growled in frustration and slammed his hand down against the side table, making the entire structure shake, "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"I don't fucking know." He rubbed his hands over his eyes, "The police is not going to press charges for drug abuse but there's a condition."

"Can't we tell what really happened?"

"We can but it's too hard to prove." Dexter replied, "They'll still insist that you attend weekly NA meetings."

"Narcotic's anonymous? Are you fucking serious?"  
"Yes I'm fucking serious Hailey." He spat, "They're going to release you from the hospital tomorrow. I've already found a place for you to complete the necessary hours of rehabilitation."

"Were you here the entire time?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm sorry Dexter." She apologized, "It's all my fault." He said nothing in response, "Will you come with me?"

"Come with you where?"

"To NA meetings." She answered, "Please?" He sighed deeply but finally nodded his head in acceptance. She smiled weakly.

"I'm going to go home and shower, I'll come back tomorrow morning with a change of clothes for you okay?" He pressed his lips to hers briefly, "Get some rest." She didn't want him to go, but said nothing. His wild fury was barely contained under his cold exterior. He was frustrated. How could he not be? His girlfriend stumbled into one life-threatening event after the other while the police are using every resource they have to hunt him down. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep to overcome her, knowing that she didn't have to wait very long for once. She supposed that that was one of the perks of overdosing on heroine. Insomnia didn't stand a chance.

She was weak on her feet on the way home from the hospital. Her knees kept trying to buckle underneath her as she walked. She stopped as soon as they reached the car, one eyebrow raised in distaste.

"What the fuck is that?" She asked.

"My new car." He responded and helped her towards the passenger seat.

"You're kidding right?" She laughed, "Please tell me this is some kind of weird joke."

"Why? What's wrong with it?"

"Uh— what's wrong with it? Last time I checked we haven't been married for ten years with a gaggle of children to stuff into the back of one convenient yet hideous portable daycare." Hailey finished as she got into her seat. Dexter frowned and went around to the other side.

"I take it you don't like it then."

"Dexter if you're going to buy a new car buy a sports car like a normal middle aged man having an identity crisis."

"I'm not having an identity crisis." He deadpanned.  
"Your secret life's work is suddenly on display for the entire world to see, exposed and under scrutiny by your own precinct 24/7." She rolled her eyes, "Of course you're having an identity crisis." He chuckled under his breath and shrugged.

"You might be right." He revved the engine; "The car was sold to me by one of my new _projects_. I'll return it soon enough. In the meantime, we have an NA meeting to go to."

"What?"

"Oh didn't I mention that?" He looked at the clock; "It starts in 5 minutes so we'd better hurry." He winked at her as they drove off. She wanted nothing to do with any of the people sitting in the room. They each told slightly different versions of the same monotonous story over and over again. And people clapped for their "inspiring" personal relations time after time as if some knew profound meaning to life had been discovered. Hailey rested her head against Dexter shoulder, which would have been more comfortable had he not been so tense.

"Dexter." She whispered to him, "I'm not a drug addict."

"I know." He whispered back, "Which is why it should be easy enough to get you through a month clean." He sighed.

"So all I have to do is collect a couple of those fucking chips and we can leave this entire thing behind us."

"We're not putting anything behind us until you tell me why you were at that party in the fist place." He hissed. She stared in front of her, biting the inside of her cheek as another man came up to the front, ready to have the shocking revelation that drugs were bad for you. As he spoke, Dexter noticed a very pale woman sitting a few rows in front of them. She kept glancing back at him curiously. He looked back down at his girlfriend to see that she was dosing off, the deep purple circles under her eyes convinced him to let her sleep. It felt as though hours on end had passed by the time the man was done his story. Though glancing down at his watch he found out, much to his chagrin, that it had only been ten minutes.

"Thanks Gordon." The man in charge of the meetings said from the podium, "This meeting recognizes lengths of sobriety with chips so if there's anyone who would like a newcomer's chip…" Hailey heard nothing, as she was probably dead to the world at this point so Dexter, much against his better judgment, raised his hand. He got up and Hailey jerked awake just as everyone in the room began to clap for him. She looked around, dazed and confused, trying to get a grip on her surroundings. _NA_, she thought to herself disparagingly, _I'm a heroin addict in an NA meeting_. Much to her shock though, Dexter was the one walking to the front of the room. He collected one of the chips and was about to return to his seat when the fat man in the green shirt stopped him.

"You've got three minutes to share if you want it." He said, pointing towards the podium.

"Oh—really?"

"Go ahead man you're around friends." Another man encouraged him. He glanced at Hailey in the back of the room, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from grinning from ear to ear. She indicated for him to go and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her. Finally, he nodded his head walked behind the podium while the man clapped him on the back.

"Well I uh…" He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"What's your name?" A British woman asked from the audience. There was a short pause.

"Bob." Dexter answered and Hailey almost choked on laughter.

"Hi Bob." The room greeted.

"Hey. And I'm umm… an addict? I use heroine, shoot it. It's affecting my job, my boss found my works. He fired my ass. But I showed him I spent every penny of my final paycheck on junk. The doctor said I…" He stopped looking at Hailey, who was watching him with a small smile, "I almost died." He finished. She frowned and looked down at her lap, letting guilt overtake her again.

"I don't know if I want to risk it." She said as she looked down at the coffee in her hand dubiously. She put it to her lips and was about to take a sip when someone interrupted her.

"The coffee sucks." Hailey dropped the cup as if it were on fire, as the black haired woman from before came up to them, "As bad as the donuts." Dexter turned around expecting to see the woman looking at Hailey, but she wasn't, she was staring straight at him.

"Thanks for the tip." Hailey said dismissively.

"It's better next door." The woman went on, "C'mon." Dexter looked at Hailey and she shrugged, deciding that there was nothing she wanted more at that moment then a good hot cup of coffee. She followed the woman out, taking Dexter's hand as she went.

They sat in the red vinyl seats at the diner. Hailey was looking around tiredly as she gulped down her black coffee, hoping that it would somehow wake her up from the haze she was in. The woman in front of her seemed fascinated by Dexter, her eyes bored into his and it unnerved Hailey a little.

"So tell me." The woman cleared her throat, "Exactly how full of shit are you?" Her English accent popped out with every drawled word. Hailey snorted and looked at Dexter with one eyebrow raised.

"I'm not full of anything." He responded.

"It was a nice performance in there, where did you download it from… ?"

"I have no reason to lie."

"Sure you do." She argued, "We all do."

"Look." Hailey cut in, "I'm the one who needed to be in that meeting." She confessed, "De— I mean, shit what did you call yourself?"

"Bob." The woman supplied.

"Right, Bob, was just there for moral support but you know, I fell asleep and he was put on the spot."

"So you're the junky then…"

"Hailey." She introduced herself, sticking out her hand.

"Ah, a real name." The woman smiled, "I'm Lila."

"Nice to meet you." She said, "This is Dexter." He gave her a hard look, "What I wasn't going to call you Bob anymore." Hailey glanced down at her watch and saw that it was getting late, she finished off her coffee with another swig, "Sorry, we really need to go. Clearly even with the fuel I'm only half awake. The coffee was good here though, thank you." Dexter helped Hailey up and nodded in acknowledgement to Lila.

"I'll see you soon Hailey." She called from behind them, "Dexter." Hailey nodded and hobbled out of the diner with Dexter as support.

"She seems nice I guess." Hailey said as he helped her into the car.

"Shit I forgot my keys on the table, I'll be right back." She closed the door behind herself and settled back into the chair. The sun was just setting on the horizon. NA was dull but it was rather a welcome distraction from the real issues in her life. Listening to other people's suffering was much easier than dealing with her own. A few minutes later Dexter scurried out of the diner again, keys in hand. His looked different, off put, disturbed almost.

"What happened?" She asked as he got into the car, he looked shaken for a moment as if he just noticed her existence.

"Nothing, let's go."

"Ouch." She mumbled as he eased his weight down between his legs, her body still a bit sore from being confined to a hospital bed for so long.

"Sorry." Dexter replied sheepishly as he pressed kisses down her exposed chest. She arched up at his touch on instinct and willing herself to relax. She draped her arms around his back and wrapped her legs firmly around his waist, pulling him even closer into her. He smirked wickedly down at her.

"I guess we don't really need condoms anymore." She giggled as she reached up to kiss his neck, "Kind of fucked that one up already." He ripped her skirt off her body with more force than necessary and put two fingers into her. She gasped and moaned, her fingernails digging into his back.

"I missed this." He hissed into her neck as he controlled her like a puppet. She was almost screaming already and they had just started. She nodded, unable to form words, "Our relationship has grown too… comfortable." She bit her bottom lip as he removed his fingers and replaced them with something much bigger. Her chest was heaving up and down with erratically and she cried out his name. She reached out for him but he pinned her hands above her head and kept them immobile. She turned her head to the side and noticed that they had left the curtains wide open.

"Dexter…" She whimpered, drawing his attention to the window, "What if that cop is still out there?"

"Let's give him something to look at then." The animalistic side of him growled and sprung into action whenever he found Hailey so vulnerable in front of him. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her up off the bed, her thighs still encasing his waist.

"Oh god." She let her head lull back in pleasure as he thrust into her standing up, "Please." She screamed out, as his movements got more erratic, born on lust, "Dexter." He practically growled in response. Going faster and harder and— Dexter dropped her back on the bed and fell beside her. She looked over at him with a small smile, panting heavily, "Where did that come from?"

"I had a lot of pent up frustration I guess." He replied.

"Well I for one wish you would get work out your frustration like this more often." She laughed and pulled the sheets over herself. Dexter put his forearm over his eyes and shook his head, "What?"

"How do you still have this effect on me?" He asked breathily, rolling over to pull her into his arms, "I can't tell whether you bring out the best or the worst in me." She nuzzled her head into his shoulder, "Maybe a little bit of both." They were silent for a while, and Hailey heard Deb open and close the front door. She got off the bed to pull on her panties and a skimpy nightgown, throwing a pair of boxers to Dexter, "Why did you go to that party?" He asked, "You told me you weren't going to."

"Because we had plans and then you broke them off."

"No, because you were going to turn your life around remember? You were done with all the raves of high school."

"I wanted to have one last blowout, for sentimental reasons. I always felt like a missing something essential in my high school experience."

"And that something was a heroine overdose?" Dexter shook his head, "You're lying to me, you should know that I can always tell when you lie to me."

"And you think that I don't notice when you lie?" She scoffed, "You're not exactly a model for truthfulness Dex."

"Don't call me that, you hate that nickname." He shot back, "Just tell me the truth."

"You want to know the truth _Dexter_? The truth is that my mother disowned me. My own mother told me that I wasn't her daughter anymore. My dad's dead. And why is that, because I killed him, and because I fell absolutely madly in love with you. Call it a moment of temporary insanity. And now I have no family left, except for you, the person who basically saved and ruined my life simultaneously. And I feel like I should talk to you, because you just killed your brother, and therefore in some majorly sick way you understand, but part of me blames you Dexter. And I've never felt more alone in my entire life."

"We never talked about Rita." Dexter said slowly, "Not even when me and her will still together. We never brought it up. Never talked about her finding out." He looked up at Hailey and took her hand, "Maybe we should talk about it now." She shook him off.

"What's the point? My mom hates me. And why shouldn't she? I hate me too." Her attention averted to the door as someone knocked on it, "You can come in Deb." She called out. Deb came in with a questioning look on her face; "Dexter is going to take the couch tonight."

_He was strapped down, Dexter was laughing at him, a talented liar, running himself into a corner. _

_ "That's the key isn't it? Not to care about anything or anyone." He said, grabbing his knife off the nearby table._

_ "I care, I care a lot." The car salesman said, terrified and trying desperately to get out of this deadly situation._

_ "No that was a compliment. I don't care either."_

_ "Yes you do. Like about your wife."_

_ "Not married."_

_ "Girlfriend then. Saw it the minute you walked on the lot."_

_ "What did you see? Tell me."_

_ "Most guys your age they beeline straight for the horsepower, flashy, sexy. You, there all alone, no one there to nag you, and you don't even glance at the Coops, all you look at is the minivan. Like you can see her in the passenger seat, the kids in the back."_

_ "Leave the kid out."_

_ "See? You're lying to yourself if you think you don't care."_

_ "She's just a companion really, started that way anyways. Someone who… looked good, normal."_

_ "They worm their way in."_

_ "Yeah they do." Dexter breathed out, "And they shut you out."_

_ "That's what this is about? She shut you out? Oh okay, I get it. I've been there. But you can't let her get to you like this, 'cause they're all the same. Fucking bitches! You do everything for them and then they fuck you! She's not worth it, you're better off without that cunt!" _

_ "Don't—" Dexter shouted as he stabbed the knife through his chest in one swift stab, "—talk about my girlfriend like that."_

She had told him she was going to skip this NA meeting. She was mad at him, disappointed with the world really and she didn't want to go. But somehow she found herself drawn to the familiar basement. Maybe she wanted someone to talk to. Maybe she wanted to hear other people tell their stories of descent. Hailey felt that she was on a slide going straight down at there was no way she could stop herself from slipping. The last person she had expected to see at that meeting, speaking at the podium no less, was Dexter. She wondered why he was even there. He had no obligation to be. She leaned against the entranceway into the room and listened.

"I'm Dexter and I'm… not sure what I am."

"Hi Dexter." Everybody greeted on cue.

"I just know that there's something dark in me. I hide it, I certainly don't talk about it, but it's there. Always. This dark passenger, and when he's driving I feel alive, half sick with the thrill. Complete wrongness. I don't fight him. I don't want to, he's all I got. Nothing else could love me not even— when especially not me. Or is that just a lie the dark passenger tells me? Because lately there are these moments when I feel… connected to something else. Someone. And it's like the mask is slipping and things, people, that never mattered before are suddenly starting to matter. It scares the hell out of me." He let out a final deep breath. Tears had gathered in Hailey's eyes as she saw him speak. She was… speechless. Touched. He stepped down from the podium and Hailey all but ran into his arms, "What are you doing here?" He whispered as he returned the embrace hesitantly at the back of the room.

"I don't know I—" She sighed, "I wanted to get out of the apartment, to clear my head and I had nowhere else to go." She pulled back and looked him straight in the eyes, "Did you really mean all those things."

"You know I did."

"I love you Dexter." She kissed him on the lips sweetly, not catching a dangerous glare from Lila, who was watching them closely from her seat. He was flustered, still surprised that she had been there to hear his long-overdue confession but pleased with the results. More than that he saw Doakes with his hands crossed over his chest, staring at him intently, right behind Hailey.

"I'll be right back." He muttered to her as he went to meet the smirking detective. Hailey had felt her heart swell when he spoke. She suddenly remembered why she had risked the entire normality of her life for him in the first place. Her hope for the future had been slightly renewed.

They walked around the lot hand in hand. He looked towards her with his usual closed-lipped smile, which she returned a little hesitantly. He ran a hand through her hair affectionately. She examined the options carefully before pointing out a sleek black SUV, "I like this one." She announced, "It's not a minivan but it's not a coop either." She looked into the back, "I think you could fit one or two bodies in there." She remarked.

"That's always a plus." He patted her on the shoulder, "What about you, could you see yourself driving it?"

"You're actually going to let me drive?" She smirked, "Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean you've seen me try to steer a shopping cart right? Do you really want to put me behind the wheel?"

"I have my reservations about it."

"Good. You still have some sense then." She laughed. Dexter leaned around her to glance into the black leather interior seats at the back of the car.

"You could fit a booster chair back here easily." He commented offhandedly and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss the side of her head.

"Yeah you could." She looked down at her stomach and for the first time since she had heard the news she wasn't absolutely horrified by the prospect of having a child, "I really like this car Dexter, I think we'd look… normal in this car." She winked at him, "Just your typical everyday all American family."

**Please let me know what you think! Also, I'm struggling a little with the next chapter so it might take me longer to update :(**


	3. Chapter 3

**See-Through**

Hailey thought was convinced that the heat was going to suffocate her. She was lying down on the cool tiled floor in Dexter's kitchen in nothing but a bikini and a white silk skirt and she still felt like she was burning up. It was 3 weeks into the Bay Harbor Butcher manhunt and everyone in Miami was on edge because of it. Or maybe it was the fact that the worst heat wave in years was now sweeping the area. Dexter came into the apartment with bags of groceries, "Hailey?" He called out.

"In the kitchen." She replied. Dexter walked over and saw her spread out of the floor, raising one eyebrow.

"I talked to the landlord and he said that the air-conditioning would be fixed by tonight." Dexter told her, "I also picked you up that ice-cream that you wanted." She sat up slowly and stretched out her hand for the tub, which he passed to her with a spoon from the cupboard.

"Thank you." She said between bites of the Rocky Road, "Want some?"

"I should probably be getting to work."

"C'mon Dexter, sit on the floor with me and eat some ice-cream." She dragged him down with her and handed him the spoon. He obliged and dug in, "It's not like they're gonna catch the Bay Harbor Butcher before you get back to the office." She winked, "Besides if they do, you don't really want to be there anyways." He didn't look amused by her comments.

"What are you going to do today?"

"I thought I might look for a job." She responded, "I've been mooching off of you for long enough. I should bring in my own income."

"Hailey you don't need to do that." Dexter took another spoonful of ice cream and fed it to her, "Besides do you really think that that's such a good idea… in your condition?"

"In my condition?" She scoffed, "Dexter I'm pregnant, I don't have lupus." He rolled his eyes, "Besides it'll just be a part time job, something to fill my time with, like waitressing or something."

"Whatever you want to do." He shrugged. A phone rang and Dexter immediately reached for his pocket, but it wasn't his for once, it was Hailey's. She looked confused for a moment, staring at the caller ID before picking up.

"Hello?" She greeted. Dexter watched her face carefully, her eyes widened a little and her jaw slackened, "Yeah… yeah it has been a long time. I— well no, it's not that I didn't want to call you I just— Oh so she told you already, well then why do you still want to— No I'm not busy today. Yeah, I know where it is. Umm okay, I guess I can ask him, are you sure? Yeah, I'll see you then. Okay, bye Grandma." She looked at Dexter in shock as she hung up the phone.

"Grandma?"

"Yeah, Gale, my mom's mom." She cleared her throat, "She wants to have lunch with me. To talk to me about my recent life choices I guess. She asked to meet you too."

"Does she—"

"Yeah, Rita told her."

"And she's not mad?"

"She didn't seem mad." Hailey responded hesitantly, "Grandma's always been hard to read. Her and mom didn't really get along well but we always did."

"Well maybe she just wants to catch up." Dexter suggested, "You are her granddaughter after all."

"You clearly have never met Gale Bennett." Hailey laughed, "So we're meeting at noon at the Italian place on the marina, _Fratelli's_, I think it's called. Can you make it?"

"I'll try my best."

"Good, cause I don't really want to do this on my own." She admitted, "Uh, I know we were supposed to go out to dinner tonight but why don't we just stay in instead, as long as the air-conditioning is back up and running that is."

"Agreed."

"So what's happening in the investigation anyways?" She asked; Dexter was less than eager to divulge very much information about the case.

"They know that I only kill 'bad guys'." He said, "Thankfully that's about it. This super cop isn't close to giving up yet though."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll uncover a willing imposter again, like in the Ice Truck Killer case. Hopefully this one will be more convincing than that creepy taxidermy guy."

"Maybe." Dexter sighed, "Unlikely though." He looked at Hailey and thought for a moment, "I've been going to some of those NA meetings without you." He confessed, "I got myself a sponsor and everything."

"Really why?" She asked, "I thought you said that the narcotics guy dropped any charges against me for using."

"He did, it's been helping me. I'm always so in my head and it's gotten me to open up about my own addiction."

"Dexter you kill people." She reminded him, "That's a little bit more hazardous than a heroine addiction." She sighed and thought for a minutes, "But I guess if it helps… who's your sponsor anyways?"

"Lila."

"Dexter…" She groaned, "No, don't do this."

"What? Why?"

"She's into you." Hailey explained slowly, devouring another scoop of the Rocky Road, "Duh."

"No she's not…" Dexter argued.

"Yes, she is."

"She's just trying to help me."

"You are so blind." Hailey laughed, "I'm not saying you should stop seeing her or anything I just think you should be aware."

"You're not jealous?" He asked.

"Do you like her like that?" Her eyes shot up dangerously.

"No."

"Then… I have nothing to be jealous of. Unless you think that I do." She tilted her head to the side and scrutinized his expression, "Should I be worried?"

"Of course not. While this manhunt is still in progress I just want to get my dark passenger under control, that's all."

"Well at least Doakes has given it a rest. I guess it's good for people to think you're a heroine addict sometimes." She giggled, "Besides I'm way hotter than Lila aren't I? I mean at least my skin is distinguishable against snow." She leaned in and kissed him, her lips still tasted like chocolate and vanilla, "You'd be a fool to mess this up Dexter."

"Which is why I won't." He smirked and pressed butterfly kissed down her collarbone, laying her down on the tile as he lips moved to her stomach.

"Mmmm… it's too hot for this." She complained and pushed him off of her, "You might give me a heat stroke." He chuckled and stood up, putting the carton of ice cream in the freezer before it began to melt.

She changed into a blue coral dress that rippled in the wind as she walked, her hair let loose as she walked down the street towards the restaurant. She glanced down at the time on her cellphone, it was exactly twelve and she could see Gale waiting for her at one of the tables looking out at the sea. Her grandmother had always been one for punctuality. She quickened her pace and looked around for Dexter's car, but didn't see it yet. Gale stood as she hurried through the restaurant and over to her table.

"Hailey!" She exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm.

"Grandma!" Hailey returned a hugged her a little stiffly.

"Sit down, we have a lot to catch up on." Gale said and indicated to the seat across from her. Hailey obliged and bit her bottom lip a little nervously, "So tell me everything that happened, straight from the beginning. I don't want you leaving anything out."

"What are you talking about?"

"I want you to tell me exactly how you and your mother's relationship got severed like this so that I can fix it. All I want is for us to be a family again."

"I thought mom already told you what happened." Hailey picked up the glass of water and took a small sip.

"She told me that she recently found out that you moved in with her ex boyfriend and that she suspects that your relationship was going on while they were still involved." Gale said flatly, "Was it?"

"Yes."  
"Hailey." Gale gave her a disappointed look, "Why would you do something like this?"

"Because I love him." She mumbled, "Because he's the only one that really understands me."

"I know it seems like that now, but darling you are still very young. You have your whole life in front of you and you're a beautiful girl, more beautiful than even your mother was at your age, you'll have tons of opportunities to fall in love." She took Hailey's hand in her own and rubbed her palm with her thumb, "But family is forever."

"Why are you being so nice? You're never this nice." Hailey commented suspiciously, "And why would you insist that I invite Dexter if you want me to break up with him."

"Because I don't think you will." Gale stated, "Your mother didn't listen to me when I advised her against Paul and it ruined our relationship."

"You were right about Paul though."

"Yes, I was." Gale smiled, "And that's why I want to meet Dexter."

"To warn me like you did mom?"

"To figure out if I need to warn you." Gale clarified, "To be honest, he doesn't exactly have my highest of opinions right now, considering what he's done…"

"I've done it too."

"He's an adult, he's supposed to know better. This isn't _American Beauty_ for gods sake." She laughed humorlessly, "But I've always thought you as a clear headed girl Hailey, you've always made relatively logical decisions, so I thought I'd give this whole situation the benefit of the doubt. I also want to sit down and talk with both of you so that we can collectively figure out how to proceed."

"How to proceed?"

"There's nothing worst for a mother than being shut out of her daughter's life. I should know." Gale said, "I want us to work out what the best course of action is to get you two back on speaking terms."

"That's a nice thought and all, grandma, but to be honest with you I really don't think it's going to be that simple." Hailey replied.

"Nothing in life is simple." Gale answered, "Ah. This must be him now." Hailey turned around and saw Dexter coming towards them, a smile was plastered on his face but his eyes told her that he was upset. She wondered if something had happened at work. Both her and Gale stood up to greet him. Hailey planted a small kiss on his cheek, while Gale put out her hand to shake his, "You must be Dexter."

"And you must be Gale, nice to meet you."

"I wish the feeling was mutual." Gale responded with a frown creasing her features.

"Grandma..." Hailey scorned.

"Hailey, I did not bring you both here to exchange pleasantries."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you bring us both here?" Dexter asked as he pulled out a chair for Hailey to sit, before sitting down himself.

"To assess the problem Dexter." She responded coolly.

"And what problem's that?"

"Our relationship." Hailey cut in bitterly, "So tell me Grandma, have you collected all the necessary facts to begin coming up with a strategy?"

"Don't sound so accusatory Hailey." Gale shot back, "You were the one that caused our family to break apart, I'm just trying to put the pieces back together." Dexter grit his teeth and waved the waiter down.

"Can I get a glass of beer? Whatever's on tap is fine." He ordered.

"I'll just have some ginger ale, thanks." Hailey said. Gale shot her a suspicious look. Ever since she was 16 Hailey had gotten away with ordering alcohol at restaurants, and she had taken advantage.

"I'll just stick with the water thank you." Gale said, "Not drinking today Hailey?" Hailey just shook her head without saying anything, "What are you pregnant or something?" Gale laughed at her own joke but Hailey's eyes widened in horror and Dexter stiffened considerably. Gale almost spilt her glass of water over the table, "No. Please tell me you didn't."

"Not on purpose." Hailey hissed and put her head in her hands.

"It was a shock at first but we've come to terms with it." Dexter said, rubbing Hailey's back soothingly.

"Please don't tell my mom, at least not yet." Hailey begged, "Please Grandma, you have to promise that you won't."

"Do you think I'm crazy?" Gale scoffed, "Rita would have a fit." Hailey let out a deep breath, "Well, this complicates things a bit."

"What were you going to do? Just give us a pitch about why we should break it off and I should move home and beg for forgiveness?" Hailey asked.

"Something like that." Gale clucked her tongue and smiled tightly, "Well, let's not talk about the past anymore, what's done is done. We have to look forward towards the future." Hailey and Dexter both looked at each other with raised eyebrows and Gale just smiled wider, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Dexter and Hailey stared at each other blankly as they ate their pizza on the couch, some television show blaring in the background. They did this sometimes, just looked at each other even though they had nothing to say. Both wrapped up in their own, separate thoughts. Dexter looked solemn, trapped up in his own problems. She put a hand on his arm lightly and smiled reassuringly. His mood didn't lighten though. In fact it seemed to darken just at the sight of her.

"What's wrong?" She asked. He didn't respond for a while, just kept his eyebrows furrowed.

"Lila wants me to go find the man that killed my mother. He got out of jail a while back and lives near by now." Dexter told her, his fists tightly clenched, "Harry always told me not to make things personal but—"

"But he's the man who killed your mother." Hailey finished for him, "How could you not want to make him pay for that."

"He made me this way." Dexter hissed furiously.

"Dexter…" She moved forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, "This is you now and nothing you do to this guy will change that." She shrugged, "If it makes you feel any better, I like you this way."

"It doesn't." He deadpanned.

"Well then let's pack a bag, take another road trip. 'Cause you know, the last one turned out so well…" She put a hand over her stomach and giggled. The corner of Dexter's lips turned up in a small smirk but it disappeared just as quickly. He sighed.

"I was thinking that this was something that I should do alone." He told her. She tried to remain composed at his harsh words but was unable to hide the hurt from her eyes; "It's not that I don't want you there with me…"

"Yes it is Dexter." She replied breathlessly, "It is that you don't want me there with you."

"This is something very private." He continued slowly, "A dark side of me that I don't want you to see." She just stared at him as if she couldn't even comprehend the words coming out of his mouth.

"Well I wasn't exactly planning to tag alone while you went in to talk to him, I mean I just thought we would get a motel or something and I could—"

"I said no, Hailey." Dexter cut her off. She shot off the couch and spun around to face him again.

"Is Lila coming with you?" She demanded.

"What? No…" Dexter said.

"You're— you're lying." She sounded almost heartbroken at the words, "And you're not even trying to hide the fact that you're lying from me."

"She was the one who suggested the idea, naturally she wants to come along. It doesn't mean anything."

"Yes it does, because if it didn't mean anything then you would have told me about it upfront like you always do." She shot back. Hailey ran her hands through her hair and turned away from him. Trying to remedy the situation, he stood up and reached out for her, but she slapped his hands away, "Don't."

"I'm sorry I lied to you, I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea."

"Well now I definitely have the wrong idea Dexter." She spat back, "You're going off to confront the man who chopped your mother up into little pieces right in front of you, making both you and your brother a serial killer, and you want to bring with you this NA _chick_ that you've known for like a week instead of me." He opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand to stop him, "_Me_ the girl who's given _everything_ up to be with you."

"I am done with you trying to make me feel guilty over what happened with Rita." He snapped, exasperated, "Every chance you get you remind me that I ruined your life!"

"Oh do I Dexter?" She laughed bitterly, "I think what I really say is _'I love you Dexter and I'm so fucking sorry that I caused you all this trouble'_." She pretended to think, "And how many times have you told me that you love me… uh let's see? Twice. Once when I told you you knocked me up, and once when you found out that your brother hadn't actually killed me after all."

"Not proclaiming my undying love for you doesn't make it less true." He said lowly. She stopped and bit her bottom lip, feeling guilt wash over her over her last comment. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, you're right. I didn't mean that. I know you care in your own way." She rubbed her hands over her eyes, "But seriously Dexter? Think about it, you and Lila in a hotel room alone, while you're emotionally vulnerable."

"You think she's going to take _advantage_ of me?"

"I wasn't going to put it like that." She rolled her eyes, "But that's the gist, yeah. I mean, what else would she want from you?"

"To support me as my sponsor." Dexter answered.

"Your sponsor of what? You're not even a dug addict! This is all so ridiculous Dexter. Why are you doing this to me?"

"I'm not trying to do anything to you."

"Yes you are, you're deliberately trying to hurt me."

"Frankly Hailey, this has nothing to do with you!" He shouted, "This is about _me_ facing _my_ demons, this isn't one of the latest installments in your self-centered dramas. For once this isn't about you getting pregnant, or getting kidnapped, or fucking overdosing." Dexter didn't realize what he had said until he saw the look on her face.

"You said you believed me but you don't." She whispered, "You don't believe that I didn't try to kill myself, that someone stuck that needle into my arm and almost killed me."

"I don't know what I believe Hailey."

"You think I'm lying to you?"

"I think that you believe that someone did that, but you were probably already in a bad state of mind." Dexter said. Hailey stared at him silently for a long time. She had never thought that he resented her for anything before, but now she saw it. Now she saw the hidden anger in his eyes, she had consumed his life – the normalcy that he had worked so hard to maintain his entire life. She opened her mouth to apologize, but she couldn't. She evaded his hands when he reached out to touch her and all but ran into their bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

_ "Mmmm…" Hailey moaned loudly as Dexter sucked her nipple into his mouth, "I thought you were supposed to be at work early today." She said softly. Dexter looked at the clock on the bedside table, 7:04._

_ "I've got time." He muttered as he flipped her over onto her stomach in one deft move. She groaned unhappily, not pleased to be woken up so early, even for such fun activities. His hands massaged her back soothingly before moving down to her hips. Rubbing himself against her impatiently. She rolled her eyes and suddenly turned around making Dexter lose his gripping._

_ "I've got a better idea." She smiled wickedly, "Lie on your back." She bit her bottom lip seductively and pushed his back down on the bed. His head hit the pillow and he stared up at her with wide eyes. She licked her lips slowly and leaned down on top of him to press butterfly kissed down his chest. He groaned a little as she continued her path down to his pelvis. She laughed and stoked him a little before pulling the white sheets over her head. He let out a deep content sigh at the feeling of her tongue, her lips, the soft scraping of her teeth…_

_ "Oh god." He gasped out, roughly putting his hand down to grasp her hair, "Hailey... fuck." He let his eyes close. Hailey popped up above the covers again, smiling. However the satisfied expression that she expected to see on his face, was absent. Dexter sat there, staring down at her, his face cold and voice of expression. She noticed suddenly and with muted horror that he was holding a knife in his hand, blood dripped from it, leaving deep red stains on the white sheets. _

_ "Dexter…" Her eyes widened fearfully, as she felt a sticky wetness roll down her chest. She looked down to see that blood was dripping down between her breasts to her bellybutton, a stinging sensation on her cheek. He had sliced her. A blood slide lay to her left on top of the ruined covers. She opened her mouth to say something but he beat her to it._

_ "I couldn't let you get away with it Hailey, I just couldn't. I have a code after all." Someone grabbed her from behind pinning her arms behind her back, "And you're a murderer." He hissed. She squirmed uselessly against the bony restraints. Dexter grinned up at Hailey's attacker and she turned to see the telltale pasty white skin and black hair of Lila._

_ "Now first thing's first." The sickening British accent came from behind her, "Let's get rid of that little problem growing in your stomach." Lila laughed evilly and she tightened her restraints on Hailey. She tried to scream but no sound came out, blood poured from her lips as Dexter's knife lodged deeply into her stomach. She coughed on the thick coppery substance, trying to gasp desperately for air, excruciating pain ripped through her stomach and tears dripped down her cheeks—_Hailey woke up with a scream. Then the sobbing started. She clutched at her stomach. Deb who had been sleeping peacefully beside her had started shaking her and asking frantic questions that Hailey, in her absolute state of panic, couldn't even make out. Her whole body was trembling uncontrollably as if she had been electrocuted. It was if she could still feel the knife being plunged into her abdomen. Terror had struck her to the core. Deb was shaking her now and Hailey tried to keep her attention solely on the girl and what she was screaming.

"Dexter! Jesus fucking Christ all might, DEXTER!" She hollered at the top of her lungs. On cue, Dexter stumbled through the door, suddenly very awake.

"What? What happened?" He asked and knelt beside the bed, looking at Hailey with wide confused eyes. His mind going a mile a minute, glancing down at her hands which were still wrapped protectively around her barely visible baby bump, "Hailey? Hailey what's wrong?" When she wouldn't answer him he looked up at Deb for help.

"I don't know what happened she just suddenly started screaming and freaking the fuck out!" Deb explained. Hailey started to calm down a little and realize that there wasn't any red stains on the sheets and that she could breathe in and out without choking on her own blood. She reached up to touch her cheek slowly, nothing.

"I had a—" She spluttered out, "Nightmare." She closed her eyes and tried to slow her heart rate just a little to no effect, "I'm sorry."

"Fucking hell, about what?" Deb demanded, "I haven't even had a nightmare that bad and my fiancé tried to fucking slice me up into little pieces for gods sake."

"Deb…" Dexter warned. He was clutched Hailey's hand tightly, and rubbed her palm with his thumb in rhythmic circles.

"I'll take the couch for the rest of the night." Deb announced and groggily got out of bed, leaving the room while mumbling something under her breath. Hailey was still staring in front of herself blankly, the images finally beginning to fade into the white wall in front of her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dexter asked hesitantly, their fight still fresh in his mind.

"You killed me." She whispered into the darkness, "You cut my cheek and stabbed me in the stomach." Dexter stayed silent, "You called me a murderer."

"I don't think of you as a murderer." He said, "Is this about last night…"

"I'm not going to keep apologizing for what keeps happening and neither should you." She turned to him slowly, "If you want Lila to come with you instead of me that's fine."

"No." He shook his head resolutely, "You were right, I don't know what I was thinking. I want you there but… I promised I take her too. She thinks I'm a heroine addict after all, wouldn't want me to fall of the deep end."

"I think it's too late for that." Hailey commented, "For both of us."

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